by USA TODAY

by USA TODAY

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) - A U.S. State Department spokeswoman says that a wanted Congolese warlord turned himself in to the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda after years on the run.

Bosco Ntaganda walked into the U.S. Embassy in Kigali on Monday and asked to be transferred to the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands, where he is wanted for war crimes.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland says the U.S. is now consulting with the Rwandan government.

The ICC first indicted Ntaganda in 2006 but relies on member nations to arrest suspects and Congo did not apprehend him.

The allegations against Ntaganda date back to crimes allegedly committed a decade ago in northeastern Congo. However, human rights groups say Ntaganda has been implicated in other attacks on civilians in eastern Congo in recent years.

First in a Tweet and later in an official communique, Rwanda's Foreign Minister and government spokeswoman Louise Mushikiwabo said, "We have just learned that Gen. Ntaganda presented himself at the U.S. Embassy early this morning."

In the capital of the neighboring nation of Congo, where Ntaganda has been on the run since last year, Congolese government spokesman Lambert Mende confirmed the information: "We have learned from non-official sources that Bosco Ntaganda is at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali. We are waiting for the United States to make the news official and we are confident they will hand him over to justice."

Nicknamed "The Terminator," for his ruthless actions, Ntaganda was born in Rwanda in 1973, and moved to the neighboring nation of Congo as a teenager. He was first indicted in 2006 by the International Criminal Court for conscripting and using child soldiers during his time as a senior commander in a Congolese rebel group accused of terrorizing the Ituri region of eastern Congo between 2002 and 2003. He later joined and rose through the ranks of a different rebel group, the National Congress for the Defense of the People, which signed a peace accord with the Congolese government on March 23, 2009.

The accord paved the way for Ntaganda and his fellow rebels to join the ranks of the regular Congolese army. He soon became one of Africa's symbols of impunity. Despite the outstanding warrant from the ICC and mounting evidence of continued abuse, he was awarded the rank of general in the Congolese army, living in an upscale villa in the eastern Congolese town of Goma, playing tennis in his spare time.

Then last spring, he and his men began defecting from the Congolese army by the hundreds, claiming that the government had failed to uphold their end of the 2009 deal. They started a new rebellion, dubbed the M23, in honor of the March 23 signing of the now-defunct 2009 accord. And in November last year, the rebel group marched into and seized control of Goma, one of the most important cities in eastern Congo.

Ntaganda's role in the M23 rebellion remained murky, with human rights groups accusing him of leading it, while other M23 leaders attempted to distance themselves from the wanted general.

Earlier this month, M23 split into two different factions. While Ntaganda was believed to have enjoyed Rwanda's support, Rwanda's relationship with him ever since the split remains unclear.

Rights groups on Monday quickly called for the U.S. embassy to hand him over to The Hague.

"Bosco Ntaganda is not called 'The Terminator' for nothing. If he is at the U.S. embassy, the U.S. should immediately hand him over to the International Criminal Court for trial," said Sasha Lezhnev, senior analyst for the Enough Project in Washington, who closely follows Congo. "This would send serious signals to current and future warlords who continue to perpetrate atrocities in eastern Congo."

In Congo, Henri Bora Ladyi, who works at the Conflict Resolution Center which helps demobilize child soldiers, including some who fought in Ntaganda's rebel army, said: "It's a relief, but justice must be done. We fear that he will be kept in Rwanda and won't be extradited. Now what is important is to create space so that children in the M23 can leave the movement."

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